What You Could Have Done
by gaaraofthefunk13
Summary: Itachi stared ahead with a inured expression. He would never reach happiness, he would never feel that familiar warmth of the village. It was going to kill him, he was aware of that, it would eat him alive. Not Yoai...Sorry if that's what you wanted... ..
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Nii-san! Are you sure I'm holding this right?" Sasuke asked his older brother, his wide eyes looking up in frustration.

Itachi laughed lightly at his young brother and walked towards him, "Let me show you Sasuke."

The older brother took the weapon and held it properly and showed his little brother the proper way to hold the kunai. The blade glistened in the sun light, managing to reflect both males in its cool metal. If it were Itachi's choice it would be melted down and destroyed, he'd always hated things of war, things that were made to hurt others. He knew it would get him into trouble someday.

"Nii-san that can't be right!" Sasuke huffed, blowing his bangs away from his eyes. "That's the same way I held it last time and when I threw it-"

"Your aim is poor brother," Itachi explained to the pouting six year old. "But don't worry, you'll get better."

Sasuke grumbled softly before taking the weapon from his brother, "Just you wait Nii-san, I'll be amazing someday! Then my name will be everywhere!"

Itachi laughed lightly and shook his head, he had no doubt that his brother would truly amazing. There was a cracking sound off in the distance that caused Sasuke to drop his kunai. The child pouted angrily and kicked the weapon, insisting that someone had done that on purpose. Itachi tried to comfort his little brother by showing him the small girl who looked to be about three who had been watching them. She looked at Sasuke with bright eyes and giggled, attempting to take the dagger from him with her small hands.

Sasuke jumped back suddenly and held it away, "NO! This is mine! My Nii-san gave it to ME! I don't want your girl germs on it!"

The small girl began to cry causing the older brother to pat her head reassuringly and somehow convince Sasuke to let her see the kunai. Deep inside he didn't want the child to be stained so early with the will to fight. He'd seen enough die at his young age, he would roll over in his grave before he watched his little brother die…

* * *

Itachi allowed a loud sigh to escape his lips as he sipped at his tea. The village was rather up beat and noisy for a Monday. It would have been a great thing for the young protégé if it weren't for the fact that his mind and heart were torn. He knew what he had to do, but he knew what he wanted to do. With all of his heart he wished that he hadn't been the one to have to murder his family, he wished he could go back in time and still be a child.

He shook his head and stood to his feet; he placed his bill down on the table and walked down the street. It was a blind walk, one that would lead him to no place in general. Itachi didn't care where it took him, he had such a short time to decide on what he would do. Would he kill them? Or would he spare them?

The handle of the blade protruded from the wall where the Uchiha crest was painted, a crack now winding its way through it. Itachi found himself knelling on his knees, his mind tormented, his heart conflicted. He had his village, he had his family. He growled loudly and punched his fists into the dirt. He had everything set up into the right place, but he was still undecided, he didn't know what to do. His little brother meant the world to him. He was the reason Itachi kept going, to make sure Sasuke's life was better than his, to protect the boy. If he could lock Sasuke away from the evils of the world, he would, he would give his own life.

Itachi cursed to himself loudly and stood to his feet, a hard set glare on his features as he walked down the street.

* * *

"Nii-san! Will you help me practice my shuriken throwing?"

Itachi glanced back at his little brother, his collar hiding his trembling lips, he forced a smile to his face and he motioned Sasuke forward. The boy rushed towards him, hiding his excitement the best he could as he came to his brother's side.

The eldest put his hand out and poked his brother's forehead, his smile welcoming and familiar to his face, "Not now Sasuke, another time."

Sasuke pouted and rubbed his forehead lightly, "Why do you always do that? Poke me and say another time?"

Itachi smiled warmly, "I'm busy Sasuke, so another time, I promise."

Sasuke pouted for a little bit longer then ran off at the call of supper from their mother. Itachi's smile faded as he looked out at the crack on the Uchiha crest.

* * *

"Have you made your choice Itachi?" The Hokage asked, huffing on his pipe, his hands folded in front of his face.

Itachi ran his fingers through his hair and stared off, his stress and lack of sleep showing from the accents on his cheeks and the dark shadows under his eyes. He clenched his fists and looked away from the man. His tongue bleed as he bit down on it and his mouth filled with his blood as he held back all of the emotions he wished to express. He looked down then back to the Hokage.

Itachi glared, "You can't hurt Sasuke."

"Do you mean that YOU can't hurt Sasuke, Itachi?" The Hokage released smoke.

"…"

"Don't worry Itachi, I won't allow your brother to get hurt, you have my word…"

The Uchiha nodded and turned to leave the tower, his hands clenched at his sides, as his body threatened to give in and his throat began to burn.

* * *

Itachi covered his mouth as he hacked into his hand and his body shook the bed. Mikoto watched her son with a worried expression and pressed her hand to his forehead. The boy had no temperature it seemed but he was coughing up a storm. She sat down next to him on the edge of his bed and pressed the cup of honey milk to his lips and smiled.

"You probably just need a day of rest Itachi, you work yourself to hard, and you're still a child you know, not a man yet. So don't push yourself, you can always just take a few days off and stay home with me and Sasuke."

Itachi nodded and looked away from his mother; his eyes seemingly lost and his heart breaking more and more. Mikoto brushed his bangs away from his face and smiled softly and him; her face soft and warm.

"Oh baby, it'll be okay, you'll be okay," she comforted him, unaware of what he was being set up to do.

* * *

The night moon shined brightly and reflected off of the windows of the Uchiha compound. Itachi stared down at the buildings trying to calm his nerves, trying to pretend that what he was doing was one hundred percent the right thing to do, his body was stiff and his limps were sore from over exhaustion. His body bagged for him to simply lie down and forget about the damn mission, for him to not make a life changing decision. He however knew that there was nothing he could do that would help him. He'd never have his life back, forever he'd be trapped in a life he never wanted, all of his old dreams forever forgotten, things he'd never have.

His little brother would never a normal life, his little brother would also forever be punished for things that were beyond his control. The child would be looked down upon no matter what his older brother chose, but there was always the possibility that Itachi could change his baby brother's chances, that he could spare one life, make his brother a hero.

Itachi stared straight ahead, his body no longer as sore, but his heart twice as pained, regret rushed through his veins and blood of others forever stained his hands, his soul. He would never reach happiness, he would never feel that familiar warmth of the village. It was going to kill him, he was aware of that, it would eat him alive. Itachi smiled coldly and turned away, his fingers twitching with an ache to get some form of comfort. His feet forced him to walk away, his body cried to be given a brake, a rest from his stress.

* * *

"Nii-san!"

Itachi's head snapped up as he noticed his little brother running towards him, a smile on the child's face.

Sasuke came to a stop in front of him and smiled brightly, "Nii-san, supper's ready. Dango's are for dessert, Tou-san had Kaa-san make it just for you!"

Of course his father would try to reward the Uchiha. Itachi had made his choice, one he would forever regret. He had stupidly chosen his family, saved them, helped destroy the leaders of the village, and made the Uchiha the reining clan, and head Konoha. His eyes wondered away from the boy and he tilted his head back, staring up at the stars silently. Yes, things would be different, and if he could, he would change his choice. He had made it his new mission, to somehow, take down the Uchiha clan, and end the rein he had started, for he knew, it would be harsh towards the village that had forced them to be powerless…

**A rather long prologue, but I felt like I need to have all of that, so the first chapter is yet to come…if you like it that is. If you guys don't like it and don't review I simply won't ever update and forget the story. But if you do, please say so, cause other whys I'll feel like it's not liked and it'd just be a waste of my time writing. Anyways I hope you liked it, and I hope that if I do get to update it, that you'll be equally pleased if not more so. So, please review, tell me what you think :) And thank you for reading, and those of you that do review, I'd personally send you a cookie or whatever you like but, we all know those don't work out to well… **


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sasuke's dark eyes widened as his mother placed a full basket of tomatoes in front of him. She was testing him! The ripe red fruits glistened from the wash that she had just finished given them and the smell of the few that broke scented the air wonderfully. The seven year old licked his lips and reached towards the basket, unable to resist the urge to pop one of the small ones into his mouth.

"Sasuke those are for later," Mikoto said lightly; not looking at him but smiling softly all the same as she prepared the rice patties for their dinner.

"But Kaa-san," Sasuke pouted, plopping his head into his hands and pushing his bottom lip out. "Itachi-nii always gets the dango that's in the fridge, even if it was mine. One tomato won't make much of a difference!"

The mother chuckled to herself and pushed her palms down on the patty to flatten it more. Part of her bangs fell in front of her eyes but she was forced to ignore and continue her work. She really didn't feel like getting the rice in her hair, and she didn't have time to bathe later. It was Fugaku's night off, he'd want the boys home and her smiling and willing to listen to him talk about his work.

"Itachi get's the dango because he's never home when we have them dear," she smiled back at him, turning and wiping her hands on her apron. "Don't worry so much, there will plenty left over I'm sure."

Sasuke grumbled softly and rested his head on the cool surface of the table, it wasn't fair. It simply wasn't.

"I believe Itachi's home," Mikoto smiled, placing her patties on the table along the rest of the meal. "Why don't you go tell him dinner is ready?"

Sasuke's eyes brightened as he ran down the street towards his brother, "Nii-san!"

The child ran to his brother as fast his feet would allow him. His older brother looked tired, stressed, and so many other things that Sasuke didn't quite understand.

"Nii-san, super's ready. Dango's are for dessert, Tou-san had Kaa-san make it just for you!"

The young Uchiha watched as his brother's eyes seemed to distance themselves from him. Sasuke wondered what his brother was thinking of but kept a smile on his face as his brother messed with his hair.

"Alright Sasuke, I'll be in in a few minutes, will you tell Kaa-san I'm cleaning up?"

Sasuke smiled brightly, nodded, and ran back inside.

* * *

"The Hokage, the council, and the Leader of the Hyuuga main branch, Hyuuga Hiashi, have all been murdered."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he covered his mouth quickly. He had to keep quiet; he knew he wasn't supposed to listen when an Anbu member was reporting something to his father. The name Hyuuga was one that he knew, a girl in his year, Hinata he believed her name to be, was a Hyuuga. He didn't like her much though, she was far too shy and stuttered way too much which annoyed him when they were paired together to work on a paper.

Fugaku nodded, and then looked back at the masked-nin with a look of concern, "Do you know what happened? What's going to happen?"

The man handed the clan leader a scroll. Sasuke squinted his eyes to attempt to get a better look. However no matter how close he looked he couldn't tell if it was important or not.

"You shouldn't be spying Sasuke."

The child's eyes widened more and he jumped back, forcing himself not to make any noises as he turned to look his brother in the eye.

"I-I wasn't spy!" Sasuke stuttered. "I-I was only-"

Itachi covered the child's mouth and smiled, "Shush now Sasuke, our father is discussing important business, we don't want to interrupt them do we?"

The young boy shook his head. His brother smiled and nodded at him then took his leave. The area had become quiet and Sasuke wondered what was going on between his father and the masked-nin. He peeked his head around the corner once more, only to find the Nin gone and his father looking at him with a calmed expression.

Fear rushed through him, the fear of being caught watching, "T-Tou-san I-I-"

"Sasuke…" Fugaku spoke, a smile warming his features, "come here, I have something to share with you."

* * *

A sixteen year old Sasuke sighed loudly and blew his bangs out of his eyes. Things had changed quite a bit from when he was a child. He could still remember the times when Iruka would tell the class that the Third was coming to visit the Academy, but he could also remember the look on their faces, when they were all mooring for their lost Hokage and village leaders. He remembered young Hinata, crying her eyes out but standing strong as she had to if she expected to lead her clan. So many were traumatized by the event that Konoha had gone into depression, several villagers had been found starving on the streets, while others just stared off into the distance as if everything until that moment had been for nothing.

The young Uchiha also remembered the looks he was given by peers, villagers, and everyone else who could even stomach looking at him. The fangirls who had once followed him so thoughtless had been stopped by their parents and now, understanding their parent's wishes, did it on their own. The Uchiha, the all and mighty Uchiha clan, was hated. They were looked down upon by all and spit on by the few who dared to question them. Konoha hadn't lost its power however. The Shinobi and Kunoichi still fought to protect their village and family and friends, they were wise enough to learn to listen the Hokage.

After Fugaku became the fifth Hokage Itachi had began to disappear from Sasuke's life more and more. His father had told the clan to leave Itachi be that after the loss of the leaders the boy had begun to lose his mind and was now confused. Sasuke remembered his brother, so clearly, trying to explain what he claimed to be the truth. The younger brother, who was thirteen at the time, had refused to hear about and sent his brother on his way, it had been the last time he had seen Itachi.

* * *

"Sasuke-sama…"

Sasuke looked up at the young woman standing in front of him. She was one of the many people that had been hired, as helpers, maids, cooks, or anything that they were ordered to around the Uchiha compound. The job wasn't well paying, but it was better than most of the jobs around the village. This girl however, was one who still willingly spit at them, openly as well, as if there was nothing better she could do, like try for a raise.

"Your father wishes to see you," she spoke softly, looking him straight in the eye.

It was nice, he thought. To have someone who wasn't afraid of him. He'd break that soon enough though, even if he didn't intend to it would happen, it always happened.

The Uchiha were the power that lead Konoha now, the Hyuuga had been pushed back, forced to stay in the shadows along with the Nara, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and so many other clans around the village. Sasuke, however, felt that the end for this rein, was on its way, how felt about it, was still in question though.

**That's the first actual chapter. I kinda rushed it I'm sorry, I should have updated sooner until waiting until last minute, my next update could take a while because I won't have a computer but please try and bear with me. I'm still not done showing what happened up to the point that I just ended at so each chapter that I do for awhile should have parts where it shows what lead up to the present parts. I hope it was too your liking, I was really happy about the review they made me smile and want to do this faster but I've busier than usual lately :( Anyways, please review and maybe I can update sooner, I'm not sure…**


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